Today I have 3 recipes to review, both of which also look like vomit and I don’t wanna share photos, the last is just marinated eggs in soy sauce, not exciting.
First off is a Persian split pea and rice soup with ground turkey (instead of lamb) meatballs from Food and Wine November 2016 magazine. This recipe is a preview of a one-pot meal book and I gave it a try because I had split peas my mom gave me to use up. Unfortunately, the split peas were already old by the time I got them and it was like 2 years later when I finally made this recipe. The split peas even soaked overnight were still too hard, so that was on me, maybe another day of soaking was needed. I was also intrigued by the addition of fresh herbs and greens into the porridge, but the final taste and color did not look appetizing, probably because heating herbs make them a bit slimy and that was the last straw for my palate, hard peas and mushy herbs. The mini meatballs were fun though. I think each individual ingredient (minus the split peas) I liked, but cooked together in a porridge felt like a waste and so now I have a tupperware of porridge in my freezer waiting for me to taste again or dispose of. I’m glad I tried it though, I know better so if I ever get old dried foods like peas or lentils or beans I should soak them extra long.
Second recipe is soy-braised beef from Ohmonah’s Take Care of Yourself monthly subscription box back in 2021. I bought a big family pack of stew beef from Costco but when I made my usual beef stew, I didn’t like the texture of the beef, it was weirdly chewy and fatty, not like the fancy expensive tender beefs from my local supermarket. So I thought I’d try this Korean-style braised beef recipe, which is quite similar to Vietnamese-style braised beef but without the coconut liquids and red tomato color. I had everything needed except a chile pepper and anchovy, I replaced with sliced jalapeno and dashi powder. I cooked as directed except I didn’t cook the meat too long for the broth part. I added 2 boiled eggs, let it soak and ate with rice as expected, but the beef was still tough and by far the worst part of the dish. Everything else tasted amazing though. I think I really needed to use the right hunk of beef, cook for the correct time, then cut it up, or just soak eggs into it.
The last recipe I tried is soy marinated eggs from Simply Korean cookbook, also called drug eggs. The drug eggs recipe is on youtube by food tester Emmymade. The marinated eggs recipe is by Aaron and Claire which you can view on their blog. Both are very similar, Emmy made it with honey instead of sugar like Aaron, so I just did the one in Aaron’s cookbook. I seem to struggle with getting a soft boil, maybe I put the eggs in too early and boil them too long, but that was fine since eggs have salmonella in the USA now. Otherwise, a very delicious marinade that you soak the eggs in, and you can drizzle that marinade over rice, too. I love to eat eggs when meat has the bad mouthfeel for me, too bad eggs have salmonella. Well, I guess almost all meat is being recalled so eggs would be safer overall as long as they’re fully cooked lmao.
Stay tuned for more recipe reviews once the weather cools down or less food is being recalled, whichever happens first in this hellhole! Love living here!